High wall mining is applied in harvesting coal, minerals, ores or other materials in seams or veins under an overburden, which may be accessed from an exposed edge of the seam or vein. High wall mining is applicable where the appropriate machinery can be placed in a cut or trench to extend a cutter head, followed by a train of conveyor segments (or units) as the cutter head advances, into a substantially horizontal shaft under the overburden. Usually a train of segments for high wall mining comprises a cutter head, a train of conveyor segments, provided with a conveyor for transporting mined material from and to opposite adjacent conveyor segments in the train of conveyor segments and a drive for the cutter head and conveyors. A known train of segments for high wall mining is described in WO 2006/052123.
In specific circumstances, environmental conditions in the mining area near or at the cutter head can hamper efficient mining. For example, a fluid such as water may flow from the environment into the mining shaft flooding the cutter head, wherein the fluid inflow can typical be as high as 15-20 liters per second or even higher. This will not only decrease the mining capacity due to increased inefficiency (e.g., as the fluid is also to be transported by the conveyors at the expense of mined material), but it may also cause damage to parts of the mining equipment like cutter drives, gathering motors, gear boxes, and gathering arms.